Electric clock.



F. F. LANDIS. ELECTRIC CLOCK. APPLICATION FILED-JAN.27. 1906l RENBWED MAY 18, 1911.

l, 1 30,092. Pat-anta@ Mar.- 2, 1915 '-MHPN- I P. F. LA'NDI'S;

ELECTRIC CLOCKIV A APPLICATION FILED JAN.27,`1906. BENEWED MAY 18, 1911.

l Patented Mar. 2,1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

crlnvanloz FRANK E. LANDIs, orwnYNEsBono, PENNSYLVANIA.

i ELECTRIC CLOCK Specification of I .etters Patent.

Patent-.ea Mar. 2,1915.

Application filed January 27, 1906, Serial No. 298,224. Renewed May 18, 1911. Serial No. 628,131.

To all 'whom it may concern Be it lmown that I, F RANK F. LANDis, a

citizen of the United States, residing at Vaynesboro, in the county of Franklin and 4State of Pennsylvania, have invented cerment of the minute hand over each space vmay be regulated as desired, all as will be hereinafter claimed. y

Referring to the accompanying drawings which are made a part hereof and on which similar reference characters indicate similar parts, Figure 1 is a rear elevation of\al Secondary clock movement embodying my more fully described and said invention, the regulating devices being shown in section and the master clock indicated in front elevation. Fig; 2 an endv elevation of the same on a smaller scale as seen when looking in the direction indicated by the arrows from the dotted line 2 2 in Fig. 1, and Fig, 3 an underside plan. 4

In said drawings the portions marked A represent the frame for supporting the various parts of the mechanism, B, the operating leverand C a cylinder constituting the operating weight and containing theregulating mechanism.

The frame A is preferably a cast, skeleton frame of suitable size and has trans! 10, which is mounted to bear between thev side o f said wheel anda pin 11 in said arbor.` A pinion12 is mounted on arbor 1 and meshes with a gear'wheel' 13 on a stud shaft 14. Said gear 13 has apinion 15 integral therewith, which meshes with a gear 16 mounted on the sleeve 4, which is mount'- ed on arbor 1 and carries the hour hand 3, while the minute hand? is mounted on the outer end of arbork 1, the gearing being so proportioned that the -rotationof sleeve 4 is one-twelfth the speed fof therotation of arbor l, as is usual. in .clock caring. A horizontal projection Azis formed at the .rear end of'fram'e A and fthe electro-magnets 5 and 6, and alsoa shunt coil-17, which may 'be used when ne,eded,'. are mounted thereon. l Y

The operating lever B iis mounted upon a pivot Z whicli'extends thrfough bearingsin the frame A at one end and vthe -bar A at its ether end.V An armature B is mounted on its rear end within the eld of the magnets 5 and 6. A double-ended-pawl B2 is pivoted to said lever B near itsforward end on a pivot and has a transverse pin ZJ? rigidly secured therein which' projects through a short segmental slot in-said lever B. This arrangement permits said `pawl to rock on its pivot b suiiciently to clear its rear point from the teeth of the ratchet wheel 8, with which it is adapted to engage, each time this end of said lever is lifted. A

on a suitable projection o n the frame and is* adapted to engage behind Vthe tooth of the ratchet wheel 8 which' is engaged on its' front side by the rear end'of the pawl B2. A link B4 is pivotally connected atits upper end with the outer'end of the transverse pin b2 in pawl B2 and is pivotall-y connected at its lower end to the lever B5, which is mounted upon a pivot b4 on a suitable projection a2 on one side of the frame A.

.The cylinder C is adapted to contain a fluid and is mounted upon the rear/end of lever B5 by means of links c which are pivoted at their upper' ends to the opposite sides of said cylinder on projections c and at their lower ends are mounted onopposite ends of a pivot rodc2 which passes through vsaid lever B5. Apiston C is mounted with- 'in said cylinder upon the lower end of a fixed' at its uppeiend in an overhanging arm A3 which extends over from the frame A. Said piston C is provided with a central aperture or by-pass c4. A .disk valve c5 is mounted upon 'the lower end of a screwthreaded rod C3, which is reduced in size for a short distance to form a guide for said valve of to slide freely upon, being of such length that said valve may always lift to a height that will open the by-pass c4 to its full size when the cylinder C is lifted by the'power of the magnets. The reduced portion of rod C3 extends through the` center of valve c5 and at its lower end has a transverse pin (or a nut)v forming a stop c6. Said rod is mounted insleeve C2, which is internally screw-threaded, and its upper end projects,l through said sleeve to above the armAa'and has a transversely extending lever clfby which it may -be turned. A stop consisting Ofanupwardly extending pin a4 is mounted in the top vof the arm A3 in position to limit-theturning of said screw-v threaded rod lC8 )at a point where the stop c6 under the valveat lower end ofsaid rod will just allow valve c5 to be seated upon the top of the piston to close the by-pass c4 therein. 'Thus by turning said lever away from said stopa said stopl c6 will be gradually raised ,above the top surface of the4 piston and not allow 'the valve 05 to be seatedtolclose' the ley-pass, so that when the cylinder C drops a portion ofthe fluid will pass under the valve and down through the by-pass. The farther lever c1* 1s moved from stop a4 the larger will be the opening under the valve to the by-pass, and by moving it in the opposite direction it will be diminished, or closedaltogether, as will be readily seen. a l f The operation o'f my said invention 1s as follows: Thel parts being assembled and adjusted as shown and described,the circuitcloserwillbe arranged to be operated at predetermined periods, as at one minute in tervals, byithemaster-clock M, in the well-l known 'ma'nnen By the use ofmy lgo vern`-4 ing device the intervals can be longer 1f de-l sired, the longerthe interval the less the vwork required of the master-clock to close the circuit.v It will, however, require a stronger magnet to lift a weight sufficient 'to propel a secondary clock a longer period of time, as will be `readily understood.` The magnets 5 and- 6 are energized by the closing of said circuit and the closing of said circuit will operate to draw down armatureB,

which tilts lever B upon its pivot b and lifts I y determined by the size of the bypass, the

the cylinder C and its connections operates through the lever B5 and the'connecting link prevent any possible backward movement of the ratchet wheel when the lever B is again raised and the pawl B2 lifted upward to allow its lower end to drop over the next tooth of the ratchet wheel. I have mounted a weight W on a projecting end of lever B5 on the opposite side of its pivot b4 from the 4end with which cylinder C is connected,

saidweightbeing of sufficient gravity to 'co'i'interbalance all of the weight carried on the 'other end *of the lever not needed to mechanism to be operated by the use of a 'minimum electric power. such clocks, the operation of the minute hand from its position to mark one minute to that to mark another minute has been practically instantaneous, the hand` jumping as the mechanism is operated from one point to the next. This is undesirable, especially in the case of a large size secondaryclock. It will be readily understood that if the movement from start to stop is slow or gradual, so that it requires nearly the entire interval to move the minute hand through the space on .the dial indicating the time between the operations ef the magnets, the clockwill more readily indicate the fraction of a minute and will be practically a regular clock-like movement. In order to provide for the gradual-or slow movement of the parts, and in order vto usea cylinder of small-dimensuitable, glycerin being commonly used. But

operate the mechanism, thus enabling said Heretofore in when the space in which a clock movement is placed will permit the cylinder C may be off much greater size and 'capacity so that the p same results are obtained by the air flowing through the by-pass, eliminating the use of a liquid entirely. In operation, thecylinder C, after beingelevated by the magnets and transferring a portion of the fluid below the piston C to above said piston, will take the time to descend that is required for the fluid to flow through the by-pass from above the piston C to below it, which is regulated or variation of which is accomplished by varying the size of the opening under valve c5. Thus, by regulating the size of the by-pass 0*, through the screw-rod C3 and the valve c5 on its lower en d, the falling of the weight and the consequent ,advancement of the ratchet wheel 8 and the moving forward of iafsopea the hands upon the. arbor through the. dial movement. It is desirable, however, in or-` .der to avoidany possibility of this movement extending over the period of a minute that it should be regulated to be Completed in a period a few seconds less than a minute or whatever the period of time may be. This can be accurately adjusted through the medium of the screw-rod C3 and the valve c5 on its lower end, as will be readily understood. A secondary'clock'movement is thus provided without springs and with comparatively few partsand one which will be always positive and reliable in its movement, .being O erated in its advance movement whollyt Virou'gh the medium of a weight and only depending upon the electric power to lift said'weight and the operating pawls back over the teeth of the operating ratchet wheel, To keep the secondary clocks in exact time wiltlthe master-clock ,the lopening throughl the by-pass must be suiiicien't to allow the/cylinder, which 'is the driving weight of the clock, to drop its full distance before thecircuit is again closed for the next movement ofthe clock. It will be under- 'stood front/the Jforegoing' that the governing device has no part in improving the time keeping quality of a secondary clock, but in the case of large secondary clocks, such as are placed in towers, the hands, especially .the minute hand, which jumps from one vvminute to the neXt andstops very suddenly,

produces unnecessary jars or shocks, which produce an unpleasant sound and 1n addition the hand does not have a regular clock `like movement, all of which objections this the arbor, the dial train, the toothed ratchet wheel, a pivoted lever having an' armature' upon one end and a double ended pawl pivoted near its opposite end, each end of which has a point adapted to engage with opposite sides of teeth on said ratchet wheel and being mounted to have a limited pivotal movement on said lever, a weight connected with tliereto both ends of which areadapted to engage with the opposite sides of different teeth on said ratchet wheel, a pin secured to said pawl and extending through -a slot in said lever at one side of thepivot on 'which said pawl is mounted, a link connecting said pin with a weight, an armature on the opposite end of said lever, magnets arrangedy adjacent to said armature, and means for energizing said magnets at predetermined periods, substantially as set forth.

3. In an electric clock, the combination of a dial train,a toothed ratchet wheel for operating the same, a pivoted lever adjacent to the upper edge of said ratchet wheel, a double ended pawl pivoted on said lever to engage with said ratchet wheel, an armature on said lever, magnets adjacent to said armature, a weight pivotally connected with the driving end of said pawl, and means for regulating the time required for said weight to fall, substantially as set forth.l

Ll. In an electric clock, the combination of a dial train, an operating ratchet wheel, the operating mechanism comprising an oscillating lever, a'pawl pivoted on'said lever Lfor engaging said ratchet wheel, electric devices for operating said lever in one direction, a weight pivotally carried by-said pivoted pawl for operating said lever in the other direction, and a. regulating device for controlling the fall of said weight, whereby it may be limited to the time desired, substantially as set forth.

5. In an electric clock, the combination of a dial train, a ratchet wheel connected therewith, means for operating said ratchet wheel comprising an oscillating lever, a pivoted pawl mounted on said lever adapted to engage with the teeth of said ratchet wheel, an armature on said lever, magnets adjacent to said armature, and a weight pivotally. connected to the pivoted pawl on said lever, said weight being controlled in its descent by a dash-pot regulator, whereby the movement of said mechanism may be timed as desired, substantially as set forth.

6. In an electric clock, the combination of the dial train, the ratchet wheel for operating the same, an oscillating lever carrying a double-ended pivoted pawl engaging with said ratchet Wheel, an armature and magnets for operating said lever in one direction and a weight connected with a dash-pot regulator and pivotally attached to -the driving en d of said pawl for operating it in lie other direction, substantially as set orth.

7. In an electric clock, the combination of' the dial train, the ratchet wheel for operating the same, an oscillating lever carrying a pawl engaging with the teeth on said ratchet wheel, an armature on one end of said lever, magnets adjacent to said armature, a connection running from the opposite end of said lever to another pivoted lever, said pivoted lever, a cylinder carried liO lao

upon one end of said last mentioned lever containing a iiuid, a piston supported by a part of the frame and mounted in said cylinder and formed with a by-pase, and a valve for regulating the sine of Said by-pass, substantially as .set forth.

S. n an electric clock, the combination of the mechanism for mcvingthe dial train forward comprising a Weight in the form of a cylinder containing Huid and a retarding an armature and magnets for operati/ng said lever in one direction and said driving Weight for operating it in the other direction, siibstantially as set forth.

l0. En an electric clock, the combination of a dial train, a ratchet Wheel connected therewith, the Operating mechanism comprising an oscillating lever, a double ended pawl pivoted cn said lever for engagingsaid ratchet Wheel., electric devices for operating said lever in one direction, a weight pivotally connected to the driving end ot' said pawl for ogerating said lever in the other direction, anda regulating device 'for con trolling the time of the fell of said Weight, substantially as set forth.

n Witness whereof, have hereunto set my hand and seal. at .Vaynesboro, Pennsylvania, this 12th' day of January, il.. D. nineteen hundred and six.

A FRANK-F. LANDIS.' [n 51.]

Witnesses L. B. SMITH, CEAS. B. CLAYTON. 

